Greetings ghosts and ghoulies and welcome to The Theatre of Terror the home of horror comic news, reviews, classic comic scans and creepy art from around the world. Just remember, it's not for the nervous!
Alma (2009) is the brainchild of ex-Pixar animator Rodrigo Blass. Alma is Rodrigo Blaas’ first short film as a director. Originally from Spain, Rodrigo Blaas has worked in animation for more than ten years, in Spain and in the United States.
Seizing the possibility of directing his first independent short film, Rodrigo Blaas asked some of the best artists in their field to take part in this independent project: French animator Bolhem Bouchiba, character designer Carlos Grangel and Sergio Pablos, ArtDirector Alfonso Blaas, music composer Mastretta and sound designer Tom Myers.
It’s deliciously creepy and worth watching for any fan of horror.
Seizing the possibility of directing his first independent short film, Rodrigo Blaas asked some of the best artists in their field to take part in this independent project: French animator Bolhem Bouchiba, character designer Carlos Grangel and Sergio Pablos, ArtDirector Alfonso Blaas, music composer Mastretta and sound designer Tom Myers.
There are some amazing freebie horror comics to read over on the Dark Horse website and all they ask for in return is for you to sign up for a free account. Doing so will give you access to episodes of Criminal Macarbe, Falling Skies, B.P.R.D. and now a new comic book prequel to the upcoming ‘The Thing’ movie prequel entitled The Thing: The Northman Nightmare.
Taking us into frigid Greenland, the comic introduces us to a group of Norsemen who find themselves caught in a game of survival when they discover a terrifying creature. The shape-shifting monster has the ability to turn itself into a perfect replica of any living being. It can look just like you or me, but inside, it remains inhuman. And it hides somewhere in a desolate village with few human survivors, among them a strange group of women…
The Thing: The Northman Nightmare is written by Steve Niles (Criminal Macabre), with art by Patric Reynolds (Serenity), colors by Dave Stewart (Hellboy) and a cover by Menton3 (Silent Hill). The Thing: The Northman Nightmare comes to readers as a prequel to Universal Pictures’ upcoming prelude to John Carpenter’s classic 1982 film of the same name.
The remaining 2 issues of the comic will be released on September 28th and October 5th.
You can find out more about the movie by visiting the official The Thing Movie site.
Turf is a five-issue comic series from Image Comics written by Jonathan Ross and illustrated by Tommy Lee Edwards. I was slightly dubious about Turf mostly because of my pre-conceptions about writer Jonathon Ross. Generally, I think the guy is a legend, despite his well publicised mistakes, as he wears his geekiness on his sleeve and has a genuine love for comics which rare to see from a celebrity. However, I recently read an interview in Bizarre magazine where Ross was his typical over-confident self, spouting simple ideas like he believed he was a creative genius when really he just sounded like a bit of a knob. The premise for Turf feels fairly haphazard itself – Vampires, Aliens and Gangsters in 1920s prohibition-era New York. It almost sounds like the author threw a load of nouns in to a tombola, gave it a quick spin, and choose 4 at random to create the storyline.
The first 20,000 copies of issue 1 sold out on pre-orders alone and that is probably testament to Ross’s likeable personality and fame. When I picked up the first issue I was fairly unimpressed by the cover art and as i began to read through the pages was filled with dread by the vast amount of text that filled huge sections of the pages. The text itself also seemed to lack any of Ross’s humour, which I initially felt was a huge loss to the potential of the comic. Very little seemed to happen in the first issue as well leaving me feeling a little cold as I had to put in a lot of work reading for very little reward. At least it takes a while to finish unlike most comics which I can finish in minutes.
I’m not the sort to quit after just one issue so continued to plow on through the remaining 4 issues. I’m pleased to report I emerged from the experience with a different outlook to Turf which I now regard as a jolly good read filled with interesting ideas seamlessly blended together to create a strong and fascinating tale. Sure the whole thing feels oddly paced in places and occasionally Tommy Lee Edwards’s artwork feels a little rushed but for a chat show host’s debut comic it’s pretty darn good.
Anti-hero thug and all round bad-guy Eddie Falco is the series’ main protagonist, amongst a cast of very strong characters, and his journey from malicious thug to righteous hero helps to ground the sometimes bonkers plot. There are plenty of fresh ideas which I throughly enjoyed. Falco’s relationship with the alien Squeed, The Orchard, the slow lead up to the final battle and its climax, Tommy Lee Edwards representaion of the flying Vampires. This comic has a lot to offer. Occasionally the scheming vampires and ‘Nooo York’ gangsters seem a little cliche but when rolled together with a splash of alien they make a unique and intoxicating blend.
There was talk of a movie adaptation to be directed by Matthew Vaughan (Kick Ass, X-Men: First Class) but it’s all gone quiet at the moment. There’s certainly room for a second series of Turf which is hinted at the end of the final issue. Can Ross and Edwards deliver again? I certainly hope so.
A new BBC supernatural drama starts this Wednesday interestingly titled ‘The Fades‘. This 6 episode series was produces by BBC Three and BBC America and has some decent talent involved, both in front and behind the scenes.
Some blurb:
The Fades are dead people, spirits that are trapped here in our world. There is no reason why fades are chosen. Death is random and the Fades are those that are left behind. They are angry, truly angry about the randomness and the pain and suffering. They are rotting, they can’t be touched, they’re prisoners on Earth and the series is about the Fades trying to break through back into the world of the living.
There are certain truths in life that can never be denied. That politicians are a devious bunch of fraudsters, liars and cheats is one of those irrefutable facts. This was never more true for our politicians in our next story who get to understand the true meaning of Political Pull! Art by the ghastly Graham Ingels.
Dave McKeanis an incredibly talented multi-award winning individual who has achieved success as an illustrator, photographer, comic book artist, graphic designer, filmmaker and musician.
Well known in the comic world as the cover artist for many top comics such The Sandman, The Dreaming & Hellblazer he has illustrated many graphic novels including top seller Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth in which McKean crafted probably the most evil looking version of the Joker ever!
His work includes book covers, CD Covers, editorial illustrations, children’s books, photography and he directed the 2005 film Mirror Mask which he also wrote along with comic legend Neil Gaiman.
Skywald Publishing’s Psycho ran from 1971 until 1975 along with Nightmare, and Scream, as part of their awesome ‘Horror-Mood’ reign during the 70’s. The black and white pages were filled with strange and horrible tales which provd a big hit with horror fans at the time.
I’ve written several posts regarding The Walking Dead TV show – updates, show times, behind the scenes stuff. In fact there are way more posts about the TV show than the actual comic. So, it’s about time I took a look at the Kirkman and Aldman zombie epic in its original form compared to the TV show.
I’ve been buying the trade paperbacks since the first volume, ‘Days Gone Bye‘, which was released back in 2006. You may think the title ‘No Way Out’ refers to the position I find myself in now having collected all 14 trade paperbacks, which combined, counts as a whopping 84 individual comics. Writer Robert Kirkman promised us a continuous story and by jolly that’s what we’re getting. No wonder he is the current darling of the comic world having sold so many copies of The Walking Dead to thousands of eager comic fans who loved the idea of an never-ending tale what would happen in the days/years after the zombie apocalypse. No Way Out actually refers to a story arc which runs from issues #80-84.
I will not mention any specifics for those of you who haven’t read it yet, vaguely put, No Way Out covers an event which shatters the peaceful situation in which the survivors were currently living in. Sitting down to tuck into volume 14 I was very excited to catch up with a dose of zombie mayhem. Reading the trade paperbacks means you have to wait for long portions of time until the next is released. Ever since Rick Grimes and his gang had settled in to a walled, secure community the tension has been building. Kirkman is a wily old fox, who has on several occasions in the long running series pulled me back from being disinterested and bored with the meandering storyline, to edge-of-the seat, eye-bulging excitment, thanks to an unseen twist or the brutal massacre of a key group of cast members. I was hoping for good things from No Way Out and I was not dissapointed!
The story arc starts slowly but issues 83 & 84 are quite possible the most exciting, horrific and emotional horror comics this century. It’s restored my faith that The Walking Dead still has something to offer those who have invested their time and money in the series. It’s also confirmed that the TV series will never be as good as the comics. AMC’s show will never show graphic images like that on TV, nor will the budget cover the ideas that are coming out of the comic. Basically, comics rule.
I still care about the TV show. I care because it IS The Walking Dead for those who will never pick up a comic. I care because The Walking Dead represents horror comics being so good that they make it on to TV. However, for those who only want to watch the TV series, you are getting a watered down, commercialized, hollywood-style experience that lacks the magic only the original comic version can supply. Comics are not under the immense pressure to perform that a network TV show is. They do not have to worry about suited corporate losers who only care about ratings and advertising revenue. Sure, a comic will be canned if no-one reads it but a comic just has to be itself, if the premise and characters are good enough the comic will prevail. The fact The Walking Dead comic series is still going is testament to its quality. If the TV show is rubbish then people will think the comic is rubbish. So come on AMC, you better make sure the 2nd series is good…
It’s been confirmed that series 2 of The Walking Dead will debut with a double-length episode. The 13 episode run will also be broken into two halves, with the first half premiering in October and the second in February. You can view a trailer of the new series here.
With director Frank Darabont no longer at the helm will the quality of the show be of a good enough standard? When the entire writing team from series 1 was fired earlier in the year, alarm bells began to ring. Now, without Darbont’s influence, and with rumours of AMC budget cuts, The Walking Dead TV series has the potential to crash and burn! Darabont was replaced by former deputy and executive producer Glen Mazzara.
The Walking Dead will return to AMC on Sunday, October 16. We’re hoping it can build AND improve on series 1.
Vampires at sea is a rare occurrence but not altogether unheard of, especially when there is booty involved. These vampires have a lust for murdering, blood and treasures but it’s also their undoing, proving that sometimes you can have too much Blood and Gold. Story by Bill Kelley, art by Jack Sparling and Vince Colletta, lettering by Shelly Leferman, with colours by Jerry Serpe.
Cereal Killer Trading Cards from Wax Eye are an instant throwback to the 80’s when collecting Garbage Pail Kids trading cards were all the rage. I remember being delighted when I could afford to purchase a new pack to see what horrors I would get. Some of the pictures were so grotesque that I’m surprised parents didn’t burn down the newsagents that sold them.
Artist Joe Simko has lovingly created these fantastic images which will delight horror fans. Joe also works on the modern series of Garbage Pail Kids so he has a full pedigree when it comes to designing trading cards.
Other catchy names include Village of the Grahamed, The Weatful Dead, Shredded Feet, Fiber the 13th and many more…
You can purchase these great cards from the Wax Eye site and they’ve proved so popular in the States that you can even find them in Toys’R’Us. The 3-Pack Mini Cereal Box Set contains:
20 cards per cereal box, 60 total cards per 3-Pack
Do you want to join the Scream team? We're looking for enthusiastic people to contribute articles on horror or comics here on The Theatre of Terror. Contact me for more info.
There are certain truths in life that can never be denied. That politicians are a devious bunch of fraudsters, liars and cheats is one of those irrefutable facts. This was never more true for our politicians in our next story who get to understand the true meaning of Political Pull! Art by the ghastly Graham Ingels.
Dave McKeanis an incredibly talented multi-award winning individual who has achieved success as an illustrator, photographer, comic book artist, graphic designer, filmmaker and musician.
Vampires at sea is a rare occurrence but not altogether unheard of, especially when there is booty involved. These vampires have a lust for murdering, blood and treasures but it’s also their undoing, proving that sometimes you can have too much Blood and Gold. Story by Bill Kelley, art by Jack Sparling and Vince Colletta, lettering by Shelly Leferman, with colours by Jerry Serpe.
Cereal Killer Trading Cards from 
